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dismantle their infrastructure"
— but the PA has neither jailed nor
disarmed terrorists.
Bush also called for ending
"incitement to violence in official
media, and [to] publicly denounce
homicide bombings," but incite-
ment and glorification of terror
continue unabated in the PA-con-
trolled media, mosques, schools
and youth camps while schools,
streets and sports teams are named
in honor of suicide bombers.
No Partner
Lastly, Bush called on "Palestinians
to build a practicing democracy,
based on tolerance and liberty"
– but instead Christians in Gaza
are attacked and their institutions
burnt down, Jewish holy sites have
been desecrated or, like Joseph's
Tomb, laid waste. It is therefore
clear that the Palestinians have not
fulfilled a single one of Bush's con-
ditions for statehood.
Whether ruled by Abbas' Fatah,
or by llamas, the PA is a terrorist
enterprise.
Fatah to this day calls in its
constitution for the destruction
of Israel (Article 12) and the use
of terrorism as an indispensable
element in the struggle to achieve
that goal (Article 19). Since the
outbreak of the Palestinian ter-
ror war in September 2000, Fatah
has killed nearly 500 Israelis and
maimed thousands more in acts of
terrorism.
A Palestinian state would also
involve Israel sacrificing strate-
gic depth and high ground while
shrinking it to indefensible borders,
including a nine-mile width. Worse,
a sovereign Palestinian state would
be even more dangerous than the
PA, with the ability to build up even
larger armed forces free from cur-
rent constraints.
A Palestinian state would not
make the Palestinians and their
leaders peaceful. Iran, North Korea
and Syria are all sovereign states,
but moderation and tranquility
are not the first words that spring
to mind about them. In current
circumstances, a Palestinian state is
not a prescription for peace — it is
a prescription for more terror and
bloodshed. El
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Dr. Mandel is director of the Zionist
FORESTRY • WATER • COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • SECURITY
Organization of America's Center for
EDUCATION • RESEARCH • TOURISM & RECREATION • ECOLOGY
Middle East Policy and a fellow in
History at Melbourne University.
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A32
July 17 • 2008
JN